Dorset’s Sophie Keech © Leaderboard PhotographyInternational fields totalling over 260 players will soon be assembling for England Golf’s three girls’ championships which take place in Warwickshire next week, from 29-31 July.
The English U18 girls’ open amateur championship will be played at The Warwickshire Golf and Country Club, when Dorset’s Sophie Keech will defend her title.
Meanwhile, the English U15 and U13 open amateur championships will be played simultaneously at Copt Heath Golf Club and have attracted a total field of 144 players from 10 countries.
At the U18 championship, Sophie Keech (Parkstone) will be challenged by a field of 120 players, among them four from Wales.
The competitors include three of the five players who have already been selected for England team for the Girls’ Home Internationals from 6-8 August. They are India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), Sophie Lamb (Clitheroe) and Inci Mehmet (Wentworth) who was runner-up in the English women’s amateur last week.
The remaining three players for the team will be announced on the final day of the girls’ championships, Thursday 31 July, and the whole team will fly together to Ireland on Sunday, 3 August.
A leading contender for the U15 title at Copt Heath will be Hollie Muse (West Lancashire), who is another member of the Girls’ Home Internationals team and who was the 2012 winner of the U13 championship. Another strong challenge can be expected from Sammy Fuller (Roehampton) who won the U13 title in 2011 and has gone on to represent both England and GB&I.
Last year’s U13 champion was Emma Spitz of Austria who left the field trailing by 15 shots and has returned to challenge for the U15 title.
The championships have also attracted players from Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, France and Luxembourg.
The U18 and U15 championships are played over 72 holes. All competitors in both events will play 18 holes on each of the first two days. Then, the fields will be cut to the leading 36 players and ties in each event who play the final two rounds on Thursday, 31 July.
The U13 championship is played over 54 holes. All competitors play 18 holes on each of the first two days. Then the leading 18 players and ties will play the 18 hole stroke play final on Thursday.
Spectators are welcome at both courses. Start sheets, live scoring, news and images will be available on the England Golf website.
